This book chronicles the rags-to-riches tale of the Grenvilles, who rose from the gentry to become dukes, making a fortune and building Stowe, one of England's great country houses, in the process - only to come close to bankruptcy by 1850 and eventually lose their title.

The administration of George Grenville, 1763-1765, continues to divide historians. The passage of his American Stamp Act was widely debated by his contemporaries, damned by nineteenth-century Whig historians, and criticized by many historians well into the twentieth-century. The Stamp Act proved to be a political blunder which helped precipitate the outbreak of the American Revolution, and it is this, together with Grenville’s own forbidding personality, which has coloured how he has been largely remembered. Indeed, as one of his more recent biographers has noted, Grenville’s political career has been mainly judged on the comments made by his contemporary political enemies. Grenville, however, came to the premiership after spending twenty years in office and was perceived by many as an efficient and energetic minister; a capable and conscientious man who got things done. This present study adds to the recent reappraisal of Grenville’s career by investigating how he and his followers interacted with, and attempted to influence, the activities of the increasing political press during the first decade of the reign of George III. The Grenvillite pamphleteers were both well-organized and effective in their defence of their political patron, and the press activities of Thomas Whately, William Knox, Augustus Hervey, and Charles Lloyd are fully investigated here within the larger context of the political debates from 1763 to 1770. The impact East Indian issues, Irish affairs, John Wilkes, and American colonial problems had on shaping British public opinion are also examined. The book concludes, with regard to the American colonies at least, that the Grenvillite vision of empire was essentially traditional and mainstream. Stubborn, peevish, and argumentative he may have been, but Grenville was hardly the scourge of the American colonies as previously portrayed; nor was he the lone author of all the trouble between Britain and her American colonies as some American historians have suggested. George Grenville will remain a controversial figure in eighteenth-century British political history, but this study offers an examination of his political activities from a different perspective, and thus helps broaden our estimation of a minister who has been considered for too long as one of the worst prime ministers during the long reign of George III.

This A–Z biographical dictionary profiles Britain's prime ministers, foreign secretaries, home secretaries, and Chancellors of the Exchequer, from 1730 through the present—all in clear, concise language. These leaders guided the nation through the loss of empire, through two devastating world wars, and into a new role as members of the European Union. In clear, accessible language, this new dictionary shows how in the 18th century, and to a lesser extent in the 19th century, many of Britain's top leaders were linked more closely by family and factional interests than by party. It also illustrates—and helps to explain—the rise of the Labour Party and the emergence of "New Labour."

Explores the intersection of the world of opera, literature and partisan politics to show how Italian opera was put to use in the 'culture wars' of the day. This last of a trilogy of books on opera and politics in Britain examines the cultural politics of opera during the ministerial reign of Sir Robert Walpole from 1720 to 1742. The book explores the intersection of the world of opera, literature, and partisan politics to show how Italian opera - with its associations with the court, ministry and Britain's social-political elite - was put to use in the 'culture wars' of the day: how Italian opera was used for partisan political advantage; how political work could be accomplished by means of opera. It shows that attacks on opera had ulterior targets. The book surveys a range of often overlooked verse and prints to show how critique or satire of opera were a means for oppositional writers to delegitimize the Walpole ministry. Polemicists framed opera as a consequence of the corruption, luxury and False Taste generated by Walpole's ministry. It closes in the watershed year 1742: Handel had produced the last of his Italian operas the previous year, Walpole fell from power, and Alexander Pope published the last book of his Dunciad project.

The Biographical Dictionary of British Prime Ministers is a wide-ranging, comprehensive guide to the political lives of Britain's prime ministers from Sir Robert Walpole to Tony Blair. Written by some of the leading authorities on British politics this authoritative dictionary provides essential information about each premiership, including facts and analytical debate. Each entry has been written to the same formula and contains: * brief biographical information outlining career history and significant dates and events * a brief summary of the significance and peculiarities of a particular prime minister followed by a more descriptive and interpretative account of his or her political life and impact on British politics * references and further reading. The Biographical Dictionary of British Prime Ministers addresses many of the key themes to understanding the role and impact of particular prime ministers such as: the political context; party management and reform; intra-party intellectual debate; and where relevant the evolution of the office of prime minister.

John Wilkes remains one of the most colourful and intriguing characters of eighteenth-century Britain. Born in 1725, the son of a prosperous London distiller, he was given the classical education of a gentleman, before entering politics as a Whig. Finding his party in opposition following the accession of George III in 1760 he took up his pen with sensational effect, and made a career out of excoriating the new administration and promoting the Whig interest. His charismatic style and vicious wit soon ensured that he became a figurehead for the radical cause, earning him many admirers and many enemies. Amongst the latter were the king, and the artist William Hogarth who famously depicted Wilkes as a grinning, squint-eyed, pug-nosed agent of misrule. Whilst Wilkes's political career has been much explored, particularly the period between 1763 and 1774, much less has been written about his remarkable private life. This biography provides a more comprehensive examination of Wilkes throughout his long life than has hitherto been available. Taking a thematic, rather than chronological approach it is divided into six main chapters covering family, ambition, sex, religion, class and money, which allows a much more rounded picture of Wilkes to emerge. In so doing it provides a fascinating insight, not only into one of the most intriguing characters of the Georgian period, but also into wider eighteenth-century British society and its shifting attitudes to morality, politics and gender.

The causes of the three English Civil Wars (1642 to 1645, 1648, and 1651) are complex and controversial clashes of conviction, belief, and personality, and a struggle between opposing social groups and economic interests. But, whatever the focus of scholarship, many answers can be sought at the local level, among county communities that were far more outward-looking than once suggested. That is why Ian Becketts in-depth study of Buckinghamshire, one of the pivotal counties during this turbulent period in British history, is of such value. None of the best-known battles or sieges took place in Buckinghamshire, but there was destructive combat in the county on a smaller scale because its location placed it on the front line between the opposing forces between the royalist headquarters at Oxford and the parliamentarian stronghold of London. As Ian Beckett shows, the impact of war on Bucks was considerable. His analysis gives us an insight into the experience of local communities and the county as a whole and it reveals much about the experience of the conflict across the country.